Canadian produce marketers take advantage of mobile technology for improved packaging information.
Fruit from Ontario will soon be sporting a new kind of packaging feature, as the growers of tender fruit in that Canadian province include the use of QR codes in their packaging, to provide consumers with more information about the products they are purchasing.
The Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board has announced the creation and availability of a new website that can be accessed via URL or through a quick response code that is easily scanned with a smartphone. Growers are now able to obtain permission to use this barcode on their own mobile marketing and packaging materials.
This technology will allow a great deal more information to be available to consumers on fruit’s limited packaging space.
Often, the packaging on fruit from growers in Ontario consists of little more than a sign over a display, or a sticker applied directly to the produce. This doesn’t provide the growers with a great deal of space in which to inform consumers regarding their growing processes and the best ways to choose, store, and use the product.
With QR codes linked to a mobile friendly website, consumers can simply scan the barcode and gain access to a wealth of content and information. This is not the first time that this technology has appeared in produce aisles. Del Monte and Chiquita, for instance, have already launched new stickers that are used on bananas to give consumers the chance to learn more about what they are buying and how they should be using them.
According to the manager of the Ontario board, Sarah Marshall, based in the city of St. Catharines, “We want to make it as easy as possible for consumers to access information about tender fruit, whether that’s at the grocery store or on their smart phone device while they’re on the go.” She added that “With the many different recipes as well as information on where fruit is available, it’s never been this easy to buy and enjoy local.”
The board will be making QR codes available for fruits such as nectarines, peaches, plums, bears, chilled and pitted cherries, and seedless coronation grapes.
